So you want to build an outstanding software product. This means developing the idea, assembling the team and getting it to the kickoff line, and getting some funding to begin with.
Aside from that, you will need to tackle one additional constraint—the “iron triangle,” touching upon three key dimensions in project management: scope, velocity, and cost. Why is the triangle called iron? Because you can’t change one of its aspects without impacting all the others.
The truth is, introducing modifications into either of the three aspects is often very difficult, primarily due to the lack of understanding of the mutual dependencies of project dimensions and conflicting stakeholder interests. You must be prepared to compromise on one or two aspects and make smart trade-offs.
To illustrate the situation—let’s say you’re a manager who wants to move the weight toward one or two of the dimensions, e.g add some new features to the project scope or shorten the delivery timeframe.
Or let’s say that the financial specialist in your company wants to keep the project costs within budget, but the sales team wants to add more features to your product scope and senior management wants the product to be delivered on time above all else.
Are you able to meet all those expectations at the same time? Not really.
So while the iron triangle exists and there’s not much we can do about, it’s important to learn how to harness its limitations. Being unaware of the above mentioned dependencies might eventually put you at risk of making the wrong decisions and adversely impact the development of your project.
As you can see, the data clearly supports the notion that smart management of the iron triangle is crucial. So today, we’ll guide you through a handful of potential scenarios and realistic consequences of moving the triangle toward one or two dimensions. Before you scale down your team, expand the project scope or move the deadline, read on to see how doing so may impact your project development.
#project management #business #development
